This set was one that Hasbro really focused on when they were saying how they hoped to improve the sculpting for the second wave of these 2.5" Action Sets. While fans wanted more articulation, Hasbro made it clear that poseability wasn't a priority for these smaller figures, instead focusing more on an "Army Man" format, concentrating on sculpting detail and excitement in the posing over points of articulation in the figures themselves. So far they've been somewhat successful. This set does succeed in the sculpting regard, and brings us something kind of interesting and different, but it is still a bit limited.

PACKAGING

As usual, we get some exciting, dynamic package art really jumping off of the pegs with a pretty neat underwater battle scene featuring the characters included in this package.

The Mission Manual write up is nicely done as usual, outlining a pretty cool little operation for Duke to go on, and it manages to involve the characters within this set. Pretty neat so far from a presentation stand point.

The Toys

Throughout wave 1 and into this wave, Hasbro has used the 2.5" scale as a chance to introduce some new characters and concepts. We got a plethora of new B.A.T. versions in Wave 1, like the Heavy B.A.T., and differently colored Ninja B.A.T.s, and here in Wave 2 we've got the Snow B.A.T., darker colored Ninja B.A.T.s, and this new Shark B.A.T. Not to mention some human candidates as well like Scarlett, the Baroness, COBRA Troopers, and here, the COBRA Eel.

It's a safer bet for Hasbro to take these chances with the smaller guys, which require a lot less investment, but that won't stop me from wishing we'd see some of these characters in eight inch form as well, especially as nicely as the Eel is designed.

The focal point of this set is definitely the Shark B.A.T., a large robotic shark with a built-in rocket launcher. The Shark itself is relatively unposeable, but I really love the overall design of it. The killer fish manages to look quite a bit like the shark it takes homage from, yet also looks like a thickly armored, mechanized robot as well. I really like it.

I do wish there was at least a little bit of poseability to it, but from a design asthetic standpoint, it's very nicely sculpted and it looks pretty neat. The water base looks really cool cast in translucent blue as well.

Alongside the Shark B.A.T. is the first rendition of the COBRA Eel. The Eel has been staple in the 3 3/4" G.I. Joe mythos since 1985, and this version looks like a mix between the Eel and the COBRA Moray, which got it's first release in 2002. The design is very nice, looking much like an underwater trooper, yet with a decidedly COBRA flair. Slanted goggles, an elaborate facemask, and intricate sculpting throughout this miniature figure makes it look quite cool.

Of course it suffers from the same articulation issues that they all do at this size, but even for an immobile mini-statue, the Eel looks quite cool. I really love the shape of his backpack as well.

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Fighting on the side of Sigma 6 is the venerable Sea Ops Duke, which got it's first release in Wave 1 with the Thunderwave Jet Boat. The version that came with the boat was one of my favorite figures of Wave 1, and while this one is designed to look almost as cool, it is obviously made to be a statue and nothing more. With a dramatic clear blue splash, this version of Sea Ops Duke is splashing through the water, and even though the figure can't really make a wide array of poses, the one he's stuck in is pretty dramatic and interesting. He does have jointed ankles, a swivel waist, and swivel arms, so he has a little bit of versatility, but not a whole lot.

Overview

I'm pretty pleasently surprised by this particular three pack. Even though the "action figures" don't have much movability to them, they are sculpted well and carry very cool designs along with them. The introduction of the COBRA Eel is appreciated, and he manages to look quite cool as well. Even the Shark B.A.T. is neat.

All in all, not a bad three pack, if you like your figures static. The well sculpted water bases help the presentation even more, and you end up with a trio of items that look fairly neat on display even if they can't move or do much.